Organizers of the Cannes Lions – the 53rd International Advertising Festival – have announced a total of 24,862 entries from 81 countries in this year’s competition. The number of Indian entries is 738, accounting for approximately Rs 2 crore in entry fees.

The number of entries globally has increased 12.5 per cent from last year. A new category, Promo Lions, has attracted 622 entries this year. Without taking into account this category, the increase is 9.67 per cent.

The Lions Direct competition has attracted lesser entries this year, down 6.51 per cent from the 1,614 entries it attracted last year. The only other category to have attracted lesser number of entries is the Film Lions, which has 4,860 entries this year against last year’s 4,996.

A drastic increase, in percentage terms, was witnessed for the Titanium Lions competition, moving up to 202 entries from 133 last year (increase of 52 per cent). The Cyber Lions competition that attracted 1,897 entries last year has attracted 32 per cent more, i.e., 2,502 entries this year. Media Lions has registered a jump in entries by 36.25 per cent, from 1,076 last year to 1,466 this year. In keeping with the increase, five more jury members have been roped in for the Media Lions competition.

The category that attracted the maximum number of entries this year too was Press, with 7,387 entries, up from 6,699 last year. Outdoor has attracted the second highest number of entries (outpacing Film), with 5,282 entries this year against last year’s 4,667.

Last year, the number of entries from India stood at 602 - with 237 in Press and 186 in the Outdoor competition. Drops are seen in the Film competition where we had 83 entries last year, and in the Radio Lions, where 18 pieces were entered in 2005.

The number of entries from India for Cannes Lions 2006 is 738, with 275 entries in the Outdoor Lions competition and 244 in Press. Represented in all the categories, the break-up is: 66 in Film, 31 in Cyber Lions, 53 in Media Lions, 47 in Lions Direct, five in Radio, 16 in the new Promo Lions competition, and one entry for the Titanium Lions.

This year saw several changes in the Titanium Lions competition, with entries open to all types of advertising, and no restrictions on the number of executions or limits on media used. The maximum number of entries is from the USA (3,384). In terms of number of entries, India ranks eighth, behind Brazil (2,537), the UK (1,959), Germany (1,916), Spain (1,410), Japan (807) and France (767).

When translated into monies, the Indian contribution by way of entry fees alone works out to UK Pound 2,39,568. There is some level of approximation, with the entry fees calculated as the average fee for Single and Campaign categories in the Lions Direct and Promo Lions competitions, and average of entry fees for Website/Integrated and Online Ads/email categories under Cyber Lions. By conversion rates applicable on May 31, 2006 (1 UK Pound = Rs 87.4528), this works out to a little more than Rs 2 crore, to be precise, Rs. 20,95,0902.

On the increase in the overall number of entries, Terry Savage, Executive Chairman of the Festival, said, “This is another record breaking year for entries, with strong growth in Media Lions, Cyber Lions and Titanium categories, as well as a healthy launch for the new Promo Lions competition. Although the Festival is a reflection of what is happening in the industry, this level of growth is also an indication of the importance of competing in Cannes.”

This year’s festival will also see the inaugural Young Creatives’ Film Competition, challenging teams to create a commercial to a set brief, shot entirely on the new Nokia N93. Ten teams of two young creatives will have 72 hours to film and edit their commercial. The client, whose identity will be revealed at the briefing on June 20, will commission the teams from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Portugal, Spain and Sweden to film and edit a 30-second commercial.